The degrees of Master of Arts and Doctor of Philosophy are offered in Linguistics.

29.21.1 Program of Study

The Degree of Doctor of Philosophy is offered in the following areas:

Languages in which the Department has demonstrated expertise, especially languages of the Newfoundland and Labrador Area.

Historical and Comparative Linguistics.

Language Variation and Language Contact.

In order to be admitted to the Ph.D. in Linguistics, a student shall normally hold a Master's Degree in Linguistics. In the case of a student who does not meet the above requirement but who holds a language-oriented Master's Degree, a program of additional linguistics courses, supplementary to those normally considered to be required in the Ph.D. program, may be required.

The program of each candidate must be approved by the Dean of Graduate Studies upon the recommendation of the Supervisory Committee in consultation with the Head of the Department.

Candidates who fulfill the requirement in Clause 2 and who otherwise possess the qualifications of Ph.D. candidates will embark on a program approved on an individual basis. This will normally include not less than 18 credit hours in graduate courses, at least 6 credit hours of which must be at the 7000-level.

Where needed, each program will include appropriate courses to ensure that the student will have completed 9 credit hours from graduate courses in each of two required fields selected from the following:

The written examinations consist of two separate research papers. These papers will be submitted to the Examination Committee. At least one of the papers must be in one of the core areas of phonetics/phonology, morphology, syntax or semantics. The topic selected for each paper must obtain the prior approval of the Graduate Studies Committee of the Department. In each of these papers, candidates must demonstrate knowledge of the literature on the topic selected, general mastery of the discipline of linguistics and ability to undertake independent research.

The Examination Committee will examine the candidate orally, on each paper, within one month of submission. Questioning can be as wide-ranging as the Committee deems necessary to ensure that the student displays a thorough and comprehensive knowledge of the area in question.

The Examination Committee shall consist of the Head of Department (or delegate) who shall Chair the Committee, the Supervisor, the Dean of Graduate Studies (or delegate), and other members necessary to satisfy General Regulation Comprehensive Examinations, Ph.D. Comprehensive Examination, 2., who may normally include the members of the Supervisory Committee. If the Head of Department is also a member of the Supervisory Committee, an additional representative of the Department shall be appointed to chair the Examination Committee.

Initially, candidates must obtain approval for their Ph.D. thesis topics from the Graduate Studies Committee of the Department, in consultation with the Supervisory Committee. The thesis topic is normally selected before the end of the second full year in the program. Once the topic is approved, a more detailed thesis proposal must be presented to the Department in both written and oral format, and must receive formal Departmental approval prior to the writing of the thesis.

Proficiency in a language other than the candidate's first language will be required, as demonstrated by a minimum B grade in a second-year language course, or performance satisfactory to the Department in an arranged reading proficiency test. A structural knowledge of a non-Indo-European language is also required, as demonstrated by a minimum B grade in a field methods/language structure course or other performance satisfactory to the Department. Depending on the program, a reading knowledge of one or more additional languages may be required. Students must meet all language requirements before undertaking their comprehensive examinations.

All Ph.D. students are advised to consult the Linguistics department's Graduate Handbook for details on program requirements and for general information relating to the graduate program.

29.21.2 Courses

A selection of the following graduate courses will be offered to meet the requirements of students, as far as the resources of the Department will allow. Full information is to be found in the Department's Graduate Brochure.

6050-54 Structure of a North American Aboriginal Language (Credit restriction: Except where an exemption is supplied by the Head of the Department, a student may not obtain credit for more than one course in the 6050-54 series. Students may not obtain credit for any of the previously offered 6010, 6011, 6020, 6021, 6030, 6031, 6040, 6041 in addition to a course in the 6050-54 series.)

6055-59 Structure of an Uncommonly-Taught Language (Credit restriction: Except where an exemption is supplied by the Head of the Department, a student may not obtain credit for more than one course in the 6055-59 series.)

6100 Issues in Morphosyntax (Credit may not be obtained for both Linguistics 6100 and the former 6001)

6110 Selected Topics in Transformational Grammar

6115 Topics in the Syntax of A Selected Language (Prerequisite: 6001 or 6110)

6150 Principles of Language Acquisition

6151 Selected Topics in Language Acquisition (Prerequisite: 6150)

6200 Generative Phonology

6201 Selected Topics in Phonology (Prerequisite: 6200)

6210 Sociolinguistics (Credit restriction: A student may not obtain credit for both 6210 or the former 6211)

6212 Selected Topics in Language and Gender

6220 Areal and Temporal Variations in Language

6300-09 Special Subjects

6350 General Romance Linguistics

6390 Franco-Canadian

6400 Comparative and Historical Linguistics

6401 Morphosyntactic Change (Prerequisite: 6400)

6403 Etymology (cross-listed as English 6403)

6410 Comparative Structure of a Selected Language Family (Prerequisite: 6011 or 6031 or 6403)

6420 English Dialectology I

6421 English Dialectology II

6430 Selected Topics in Linguistic Variation (Prerequisite: 6220 or the former 6211)

Appropriate equivalent credits may be given for courses taken at the Summer Institute of the Linguistic Society of America, or a similar institute. Students are encouraged to attend these institutes. They should, however, consult the Head of the Department as to what courses may be appropriate for credit.